Built on the former land of the St. Francis House (SFH), Bertha Pitts Campbell Place is one of National Equity Fund’s (NEF) outstanding developments that opened in 2022. Located in Seattle, Bertha Pitts Campbell Place brings 100 units of affordable, permanent supportive housing to adults exiting chronic homelessness. Plymouth Housing Group collaborated with SFH to develop a service-enriched community that supports residents through case management, transitional amenities, onsite nursing, health care, and more. The seven-story building also features street-level offices for St. Francis House and a commercial retail storefront.
This development is named in honor of Bertha Pitts Campbell, a civil leader and co-founder of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, a historically Black sorority. In the 1930s, Campbell became an inaugural board member of the Seattle Urban League and fought for Black Americans in her area to have equal rights and privileges as well as access to financial support and affordable housing. She was also the first woman of African descent to serve on a YWCA board in the United States.
NEF's investment in developments like Bertha Pitts Campbell Place not only aligns with our mission to create and deliver innovative, collaborative financial solutions to expand the creation and preservation of affordable housing, but it also reflects our efforts to ensure that our team has the experience and knowledge to effectively support the diverse individuals, families, and communities we serve. NEF strives to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive place to work, which enables us to develop housing for those who need it most, including often neglected and marginalized communities.
New NEF initiatives like the Emerging Minority Development Fund (EMDF) and Pay It Forward (PIF) Program expand access to LIHTC and build the financial capacity of affordable housing developers of color. Thanks to EMDF’s funding, developers of color who had not previously had access to the funding and resources they needed, over 200 units of affordable housing will be built over the next several years. These initiatives provide great opportunity for developers of color as well as the greater potential for more affordable housing.
NEF is committed to bridging the gap between people and communities across the country by embracing differences, learning from the unique experiences of our partners, residents, and employees and taking a leadership role to create a more inclusive world. At NEF, we want to advance housing for all and ensure that everyone has access to a safe, stable, and affordable home.
